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A Woolery Machine Company runway de-icing device in action at Cologne-Wahn airport, Cologne, West Germany. Anon., “Ancillary Review – Flame-throwing – On Ice.” The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News, 28 February 1963, 29.
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Aviation
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Come on, PB, light my fire. Try to set the ice on fire: A peek at the American firm Woolery Machine Company and some of its ideas and products

Profile picture for user rfortier
Feb 5, 2023
Hello there, my reading friend. Given the less than balmy weather in a certain northern corner of the northern hemisphere of planet Earth, yours truly thought that a topic like the one on offer today, in this edition of our heart warming blog / bulletin / thingee, would be most appropriate indeed. Let us begin with a quote, which consists of the brief text which accompanied the photograph above.
A promoter of Sure Food, the food chemist James Pearson (right), at the facility of Wentworth Canning Company Limited of Hamilton, Ontario. Anon., “La viande, synthétique, produit canadien, pourrait sauver de la famine les peuples affamés d’Europe.” Photo-Journal, 5 February 1948, 3.
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Agriculture
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“It smells like meat. It even looks like meat.” The long forgotten tale of a synthetic meat / meat substitute / meat analogue / meat alternative / imitation meat sometimes called Sure Food

Profile picture for user rfortier
Feb 1, 2023
Greetings, my reading friend. Yours truly has a question for you. Are you a foody / foodie, in other words a Homo sapiens very interested in cooking and eating different kinds of food? Yes? Wunderbar! Are you familiar with synthetic meat / meat substitute / meat analogue / meat alternative / imitation meat by any chance? Yes, yes, synthetic meat. The world needs such a product in a bad way. Do you not know that red meat is a significant contributor to climate change? Indeed, it is a major factor
Black and white photograph of 6 uniformed Black porters standing in a line in front of a train. Some porters are smiling and looking at each other.
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Rail Transportation
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The Face of the Rails: Black Porters in Canada

Profile picture for user Alexa Lepera
Jan 30, 2023
Black porters were integral to the day-to-day operations of Canadian railways from the late 19th to mid 20th century. The Black men who made up the majority of porters already experienced racism in Canadian society at large. In the context of their work, they faced the intensely racist and discriminatory policies of the railway companies and the white-led unions. These experiences made political and labour leaders out of many of them, as they fought discrimination on and off the rails. The role
The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec, Manuan Lake, Québec, August or September 1940. CASM, 13469.
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Aviation
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Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 3

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jan 29, 2023
Welcome back, my reading friend, and profuse apologies. Yours truly remembers only too well my December 2022 statement according to which I hereby and heretofore endeavoured to valiantly attempt to be briefer in my perorations. I had, however, prefaced that statement by stating that resolutions for the new year could be (tend to be?) fleeting. Well, now you have proof. Hence the apologies. Now, where were we? Ah yes. The Junkers Ju 52 of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec, was being
The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec, under repair, Arviat, Nunavut (Eskimo Point, Northwest Territories), September 1932. CASM, 1208.
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Aviation
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Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 2

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jan 22, 2023
Welcome back, my reading friend. I am pleased to welcome you yet again to the wonderful world of aviation. You will undoubtedly remember that, when we flew off last week, we were in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in late December 1931, with the crew of a Junkers Ju 52 cargo plane bought a few months before by Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec. As you may well imagine, said crew took a few days off during the holiday season. Mind you, it was very likely that these gentlemen joined Canadian
Three images side by side: a toilet bowl expelling a cloud of droplets, a gloved hand holding a test tube containing a small plant, and an infrared view of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io showing spots of volcanic activity covering the moon.
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Agriculture
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3 things you should know about flushing the toilet, artificial photosynthesis, and volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon

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Jan 16, 2023
For the January edition, they explain why you should close the toilet lid before flushing, how we could grow plants without light, and extended volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon Io.
The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Pionnier des transports lourds dans le nord du Canada, le ‘Cargo volant’ a fini sa carrière.” Photo-Journal, 29 January 1948, 2.
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Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 1

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jan 14, 2023
May I begin this issue of our tremendous blog / bulletin / thingee with a heartfelt aeronautical hello? Yours truly would like to bring to you attention this week the remarkable career of an equally remarkable bushplane, the Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec. And yes, I still very much intend to valiantly attempt to be briefer. So, let us begin. Canadian Airways was created in November 1930, from the merger of Western Canada
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Sergeant Bob Electro caught in the act of saluting the commanding officer of RCAF Station Clinton, Group Captain John Gordon Mathieson, Clinton, Ontario. Anon., “Six-Year-Old Sergeant.” The North Bay Nugget, 7 January 1963, 15.
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Aviation
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Dōmo arigatō, gunsō Electro, mata au hi made: The electronic adventures of Royal Canadian Air Force / Canadian Armed Forces Sergeant Bob Electro

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jan 8, 2023
Greetings and salutations, my reading friend. I can only hope that your holiday period was not hectic / taxing. It is with the hope of creating an atmosphere of sweetness and light that I offer you an article on a robot. Let us begin its electronic adventures with the caption of the photograph you saw a few moments ago.
A very appropriate piece of equipment given the season, well, the season which affects the northern part of the northern hemisphere of planet Earth, the domestic / home snowblower of Autocanner Registered of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “–.” Montréal-Matin, 9 January 1948, 6.
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Household Technology
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“Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!” The Blo-All domestic / home snowblower of Autocanner Registered of Montréal, Québec

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jan 1, 2023
Happy New Year, my reading friend. And yes, our topic this week is a domestic / home snowblower, a very appropriate piece of equipment given the season, well, the season which affects the northern part of the northern hemisphere of planet Earth, and a demonstration of my unwavering will to be briefer in 2023. Before going any further, allow me to quote, in translation, the caption which accompanied the photograph of the domestic / home snowblower which appeared in January 1948 in the daily
The 10-inch flight impact simulator of the National Research Council of Canada at some point during its long career, Uplands / Ottawa, Ontario. NRC.
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A great Canadian success story you should know about: A brief look at the National Research Council of Canada flight impact simulators donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 3

Profile picture for user rfortier
Dec 25, 2022
Greetings, my faithful reading friend. Yours truly is indeed happy that you agreed to join me in our examination of the second flight impact simulator of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, a national museum located in Ottawa, Ontario. That impressive device was put together by Fairey Canada Limited of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Although not a major player in the Canadian aircraft industry, that firm was one of the major players in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia during the 1950s and 1960s
A bushplane, the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. A new text panel sits in front of the aircraft: a gray structure with wood-tone side panels and dark metal legs. Its backlit surface presents the name of the aircraft, a selection of images, and interpretive texts. A life-size display of a dock sits to the right, followed by another aircraft and panel.
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Arts & Design
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Whispering Loudly: An Update about the “Quiet Updates”

Profile picture for user Erin Poulton
Dec 19, 2022
Small changes can add up to big results! The look-and-feel at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum is evolving. See how “Quiet Updates” are making an impact.
The 3.75- / 3.5-inch flight impact simulator of the National Research Council of Canada at some point during its long career, Uplands / Ottawa, Ontario. NRC.
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Aviation
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A great Canadian success story you should know about: A brief look at the National Research Council of Canada flight impact simulators donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 2

Profile picture for user rfortier
Dec 18, 2022
Good day to you, my assiduous reading friend. Are you ready to drink from the fount of knowledge otherwise known as our blog / bulletin / thingee? Good for you. Let us continue our investigation of the bird impact research work done in Ottawa, Ontario, by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). To do that, we will have to put on our seven decade boots, our nine decade boots actually, and travel back in time to the year 1930. The Engine Laboratory of the Division of Mechanical Engineering
The 10-inch flight impact simulator of the National Research Council of Canada at some point during its long career, Uplands / Ottawa, Ontario. NRC.
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Aviation
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A great Canadian success story you should know about: A brief look at the National Research Council of Canada flight impact simulators donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 1

Profile picture for user rfortier
Dec 11, 2022
Good day to you, my reading friend. If you have no objection, we will commemorate / celebrate the acquisition, in December 2012, ten years ago this month, of two very interesting devices by the wonderful Canada Aviation and Space Museum, in Ottawa, Ontario, more specifically two fascinating devices donated by a great Canadian institution, nay, a world famous Canadian institution. Our topic of today is not as light hearted as some of our past fare, but I respectively make no apologies for that